Art viewers are invited to discover the connection between humans and the environment during "A Beast Of No Burden" which kicks off today and runs until April 12, on the 1st floor of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Pathumwan intersection.
Held with support of the Embassy of Poland, "A Beast Of No Burden" is a project by Polish visual artist and curator Anna Kedziora, who presents a floor installation made of clay tiles decorated with a unique pattern of water buffalo hoof imprints.
The exhibition's title refers to a water buffalo that once dominated the rural landscapes of Thailand and many other Southeast Asian countries. It used to provide vital power but, as it happens in almost all corners of the world, as an animal helping people make the living and produce food, it would often become almost a family member.
Kedziora's work was inspired by changes in the rural landscape of Thailand following the agricultural mechanisation, spread of technology and the replacement of traditional farming animals by machinery.
With this change, also very close relations of farmers and their families with animals were lost. However new technology has made lives of farmers easier in many ways as it has also deprived them of this unique bond with nature.
The floor installation with hooves prints, designed to be approximately 2m by 2m, aims to bring back the presence of the animal back to people's everyday life. While walking on it barefoot, which is typical in Thailand, physical contact with the animal traces will be naturally encouraged.
The opening ceremony is today at 6pm, followed by a discussion with the artist.
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